The Washington Post wants us to know that socialism is the Mainstream. Sunday’s Post Magazine toasts left-wing comedian Lewis Black: “We live in troubled times, he bellows to the packed house. You want proof? America’s reigning Angry Comic then delivers the koan of a kicker: Because I, Lewis Black, am now mainstream!” [Emphasis theirs.]

Many paragraphs later, reporter Michael Cavna threw in: “His satire spans the political spectrum. Black, a socialist and registered Independent, says he doesn’t believe either major party knows what it’s doing. ‘Socialism appeals to me,’ he tells me. ‘It’s like imposed Christianity. You’ve got to share.’”

And:

People say, ‘Oh, the socialists!’ and get all freaky. The real terror of being a socialist is, you always have to go to more meetings.”

At rant’s end, Black gets a warm smile and handshake from Stewart. “He’s the Tasmanian Devil of comedy,” Stewart tells me by e-mail. “And I say that despite the fact that most people may not realize how politically astute and hilariously funny the Tasmanian Devil is.”

Black and “The Daily Show” exploded in popularity together. “We’ve been fortunate to have Lewis’s unique voice be part of our show for the last 15 years,” says Stewart — a run that predates even the host himself.

The show's creator, leftist Lizz Winsted, asked him to be the show's "Andy Rooney." In the mind of liberals, Jon Stewart and the Daily Show ranters speak for everyone in America -- not just their fraction of smirking, self-satisfied, big-city socialists.

Cavna can't exactly place Black on the Left. He'd rather imply he is the national voice, the "one-man ranting civics lesson, because apparently liberalism and civics are synonyms:

On this “In God We Rust” tour two Septembers ago, the dyspeptic comedian rolled out rants against health-care costs, against greed, against poverty. Against leaders who insult our intelligence.

I’m a happy person, but an angry citizen ... ,” Black tells me. “To get angry at the world around us is the most sane reaction you can have.”

But how did Black become a one-man ranting civics lesson? How did he become the comic voice of our national vitriol?

Cavna did drop some hippie atheist clues:

Amid the “Sgt. Pepper’s”-era experimentation, Black says, he also had his mind expanded by scathing humor from such writers as Yippies “investigative satirist” Paul Krassner. In the work of Krassner and Kurt Vonnegut, and later George Carlin, Black discovered a way to take on the world. “Satire,” he says, “both shocked me and reinforced the way I look at things.”

A little Romney-bashing was also included, right before the socialist chatter:

The comedian plays video showing that in May, Romney actually said same-sex couples adopting children is “something which people have the right to do.” Then Black pivots to put Romney in the crosshairs: “Look, you don’t need to lie to make Romney look anti-gay. It’s unnecessary! That’s like Katy Perry adding fireworks to her breasts! We were already looking at them!” [Italics theirs.]